2022 Cheltenham Festival Day 1 – Neil Morrice provides us with his best bets and tips for the opening day of the premier jumps festival.
Race 1 – SUPREME NOVICES’ HURDLE (Grade 1): CONSTITUTION HILL
Trainer: Nicky Henderson – Jockey: Nico de Boinville
The Supreme has been lauded as the best race of the meeting and it’s easy to see why.
Nicky Henderson and Willie Mullins lock horns with a combined total of five of the nine-strong field, and the one I prefer is CONSTITUTION HILL.
The former Irish pointer has totally dominated in his two outings over jumps, both at Sandown, displaying a prolonged turn of foot that not many horses possess. Since landing the Grade 1 Tolworth Hurdle he’s been by far the stronger in the market of Henderson’s pair, with JONBON drifting, and it could be that DYSART DYNAMO emerges as the main threat to my selection as the Westerner gelding destroyed a good field in a Grade 2 at Punchestown in his trial for this.
Race 2 – ARKLE CHALLENGE TROPHY NOVICES’ CHASE: EDWARDSTONE (Nap)
Trainer: Alan King – Jockey: Tom Cannon
If the English are going to have a lot to shout about that should happen on Day 1, with EDWARDSTONE giving the ‘home’ side high hopes of taking out the race that remembers the greatest ever chaser.
Since being unluckily brought down when poised to score on his return to action the eight-year-old has put together an impressive sequence of four straight wins. He hardly touched a twig when powering home in the Kingmaker Chase at Warwick, and boasts the best overall form on offer.
Front runner SAINT SAM appeals as one that can earn at a price, as he went off too quickly for his own good at the Dublin Racing Festival. I fancy him to turn round placings with the winner of that Leopardstown contest, BLUE LORD.
Race 3 – ULTIMA HANDICAP CHASE: OUR POWER (Each Way)
Trainer: Sam Thomas – Jockey: Charlie Deutsch
This is a cracking handicap chase I’m really looking forward to watching.
With 25 facing the tape it’s a race where more than one bet is advised, and several appeal as horses for your exotics.
However, the main pick is OUR POWER, who gets in at the base of the weights and looked a tad unfortunate not to finish closer than third when he lost ground coming wide into the straight in Kempton’s Coral Trophy. A stumble at the last didn’t help his cause either, and he should have finished closer.
DEATH DUTY is Gordon Elliott’s tip as his best in the handicaps and heed should be taken of that statement. The veteran bounced back to winning form with a vengeance last time, and looks to have been laid out for the race.
RAPPER has his tail up for a Henry Daly stable amongst the winners and this hat-trick seeker needs inclusion, while FANTASTIKAS is a novice who deserves the utmost respect in his first run in a handicap. The dual Lingfield scorer is a big hope for the local yard of Nigel Twiston-Davies and can trouble the judge.
Scottish raider CORACH RAMBLER likes the track and was going well when unseating at Ascot. He should also take home a cheque.
2022 Cheltenham Festival Day 1 – Honeysuckle to win the day’s Championship race and remain unbeaten in doing so
Race 4 – CHAMPION HURDLE (Grade 1): HONEYSUCKLE
Trainer: Henry de Bromhead – Jockey: Rachael Blackmore
While it doesn’t grab you as one of the better championship deciders on record, the Champion Hurdle renewal gives HONEYSUCKLE the opportunity to showcase her prowess and repeat her dominance from last year, when she ran her rivals ragged.
The mare is an unbeaten 14-race winner over jumps, and while records are always there to be broken it would be a shuddering and totally unexpected blow to connections if she failed to deliver.
Last season’s Supreme winner APPRECIATE IT hasn’t raced in public since that wide margin triumph, form which has a big question mark against it. Reports on the eight-year-old’s readiness for this are varied, making him a risky proposition, and while he should still trouble the judge, 2020 winner EPATANTE looks a more tempting entity to follow Honeysuckle home. She dead-heated with NOT SO SLEEPY in the Fighting Fifth and outclassed GLORY AND FORTUNE in the Christmas Hurdle. She’s a very good operator when fresh, and it doesn’t matter that she hasn’t raced since Christmas.
TEAHUPOO enters calculations as an unknown quantity and the proverbial joker in the pack, while the best of the roughies looks to be ADAGIO, who with a good run at Wincanton showed he’s retained the ability shown in an excellent juvenile season.
Race 5 – CLOSE BROTHERS MARES HURDLE (Grade 1): STORMY IRELAND (Nap)
Trainer: Willie Mullins – Jockey: Paul Townend
Irish mares threaten to dominate this distaffers’ race, and the pick could be recent course winner STORMY IRELAND.
The daughter of Motivator has thrived since her switch to the Mullins camp and landed some good bets when taking out the Grade 2 Relkeel Hurdle on New Year’s Day.
Her trainer also fields BURNING VICTORY and ECHOES IN RAIN who are no mugs in their own right, while the 2021 winner TELMESOMETHINGGIRL looks to have been prepared specifically for this one day and was a big eye taker when third in a Leopardstown Grade 3 over Christmas.
QUEENS BROOK commands respect as Gordon Elliott’s only runner and has a good chance of turning the tables with Burning Victory on Punchestown placings from the end of last month.
Race 6 – BOODLES JUVENILE HANDICAP HURDLE: GAELIC WARRIOR
Trainer: Willie Mullins – Jockey: Paul Townend
This might look like one of the most fiercely contested handicaps of the week, but the market tells us it isn’t.
For several weeks betting patterns have strongly pointed to the name of GAELIC WARRIOR as the likely winner. The German-bred gelding has no form in either Ireland or Britain to mirror his position as a red hot favourite, but his form at Auteuil when trained by Lageneste Macaire stamps him as useful, as it has worked out particularly well.
In what could be a scramble for the places EBASARI is a must include on handicap debut, while SEA SESSIONS and SKYCUTTER are appealing roughies at their respective prices.
Race 7 – NATIONAL HUNT CHALLENGE CUP AMATEUR JOCKEYS’ NOVICES’ CHASE (Grade 2): VANILLIER
Trainer: Gavin Cromwell – Jockey: Mr Derek O’Connor
The old Four Mile National Hunt Chase has cut up to a handful of runners, leaving a question mark over the strength of the decision to change it in the first place.
It does involve a couple of classy operators in STATTLER and RUN WILD FRED, but preference is for the grey VANILLIER, who has to turn things round with the former from Naas but is value to do so with Derek O’Connor in the saddle, and taking stock of the fact the Cromwell stable was out of form at the time.
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